The Family
Chapter 10
…
Deeks drove Taylor Longstreet back to the ranch. He'd protested at first, getting a rather stubborn look in his eye, but finally accepted the invitation to stay after Callen told him what they were planning. His eyes lit up when Joe described the ranch, especially at the mention of horses. He fell asleep halfway there but came awake when they turned off the highway and hit the rutted dirt and gravel road to the ranch.
"Nice," he said softly. "How many horses?"
"I have no idea," Deeks said. "Joe's dad George and Jim Littleshield are breeders, and George trains cutting horses, so the number of horses is different every time I come."
"Littleshield. He native?"
"Arapaho. He's the Atwood's cousin," Deeks said. "Elan Hand will be at the ranch. He's Jim's nephew. He's a former Army Ranger. A good man to have on your side."
"My mom had a little Cherokee blood."
He was silent after that and Deeks didn't pry, having noted his use of the past tense. They didn't know much about the man, but Sam had shown him the text he'd sent to Hetty asking for intel on him. It was best to keep him close. He had knowledge they needed, even though he hadn't elaborated on any of what he'd told them at the sheriff's office, including the name of the man he believed ordered the hit on his partner.
"Forgot to ask about your rental car," Deeks said. "We can pick it up later or have the agency go get it."
"Didn't need a rental car," he said. "I flew myself out."
"Seriously?"
"That surprises you?"
"Let's just say I'm not a fan of flying. Had a plane and almost my ass, shot out from under me once," Deeks said, shivering dramatically.
"Me too," he said. "But that one was a jet. I was Air Force."
"What? Really?" Deeks said, staring at him. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you bailed out."
"I'm here ain't I?" he replied. "Didn't have much choice. Ejected at a little over two thousand feet. Embarrassing and damn painful. When I made it back to base, the commanding officer reminded me that my F-18 was more valuable than I was. He wasn't very happy I'd lost one."
"Cold."
"But true."
"Soft landing?"
"Not sure. I was unconscious at the time," he said quietly. "Whoever shot me down came real close to actually shooting my ass off."
"And you still like flying?"
"It's peaceful up there in the clouds," he said wistfully. "All alone, looking down on the earth. Gives you perspective and time to work things out. Helps me get my head straight after tough assignments."
"I feel that way when I'm out on my board waiting on the right wave," Deeks said.
"Never surfed. Always wanted to give it a try."
"It's awesome, brother."
Longstreet expelled a soft breath when the house and barn came into view. He smiled and sat up straighter, his hazel eyes sharp once again as he surveyed the passing landscape and the grazing horses in the pasture.
"That's a good-looking Appaloosa," he said.
"He's the reason we're in this mess," Deeks revealed.
"I'm gonna need to hear the full story on that," Longstreet said as Deeks pulled up in front of the house. "And I'm also gonna need introductions to those two beautiful women on the porch."
"Those two are spoken for, buddy," Deeks laughed. "The dark haired one is my wife, Kensi."
"And the blond?"
"That's Lily. She's French and she's with Elan."
"Some guys have all the luck."
"I sure as hell did," Deeks said as they stepped down out of the truck. "Ladies? Meet Taylor Longstreet of the Drug Enforcement Agency. You'll like him. He thinks you're both beautiful. So, not as dumb as he looks."
Kensi lit up with one of her warm smiles, and Lily assessed him as only she could, but her expression gave away her delight at the compliment.
"Deeks told me you're both taken. Downright spoiled my day," Longstreet said, exaggerating his Southern accent in a smooth, silky sort of way. "It's a pleasure to meet you both."
"You look like you went a couple of rounds with an angry bear," Kensi said.
"Several actually," he replied.
"Is this where you use that peculiar Americanism…'you should see the other guy'?" Lily asked.
"'Fraid not, ladies. Got my ass kicked, Southern style."
"So shit kickers are real?" Deeks asked, grinning widely.
"Want a demonstration?" Longstreet asked, looking lethal until he smiled and turned to Kensi. "He thinks he's funny, don't he?"
"Oh yeah."
He shook his head at Deeks and then gently shook each woman's hand and smiled. It changed his whole demeanor. They giggled, and Kensi even flipped her hair.
"Okay. Come on flyboy. Enough flirting," Deeks said and steered the man past them toward the house. "Elan around?"
"He's in the barn with Henry Tarver," Kensi said. "Callen called and filled us in on your meeting with the FBI."
"Mind if I go get acquainted with some of the horses?" Longstreet asked, obviously not ready to talk about that. "Grew up with a soft spot for 'em."
"Did you have one of your own, mon ami?" Lily asked as she swung the gate open.
"Yes ma'am. A moon eyed roan named Skeeter," he said softly. "My daddy gave him to me on my tenth birthday. Miss him."
"Where's home?" Kensi asked.
"Used to be the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Little town called Valle Crucis."
"That's a beautiful part of the country," Kensi said. "So, you don't get back home much?"
"Nothing to go home to," he replied, and walked over to the fence lined with curious horses.
"Sorry to hear that," Kensi said, looking sadly over at Deeks.
The Appaloosa came right up to him, and it made him smile. "Don't have anything for you, boy. Just scratches."
Deeks watched the spotted horse close his eyes as the man quietly scratched behind his ears and down his jaw.
Lily looked curious and suddenly boldly asked. "What made you decide to become a DEA agent?"
The man didn't reply, simply continued rubbing on the Appy. Lily mumbled something quietly in French and put her hand on his shoulder.
"S'il te plaît, pardonne-moi, mon ami," she said quickly. "I worked in French Intelligence too long. I apologize if it sounded like I was interrogating you."
"Call me Taylor. No need to apologize either," he said. "I just don't talk about it or think about it much anymore."
"We all have our reasons for not talking about why our lives ended up where they did, Taylor," Kensi said. "But you're among friends here. No judgement."
His shoulders slowly relaxed as he stared out over the pasture. "My parents got in a car accident when I was fifteen. My daddy died, and my momma was badly injured. Got hooked on pain medication. When the docs wouldn't renew her prescription, she somehow found a local dealer. Oxy became her drug of choice. I tried to keep the farm up, but if we did make any money, it went straight to her dealer. I stuck it out until the bank foreclosed. By then she wasn't really my momma anymore. I left when I turned eighteen. Ended up in Charlotte. Went to every military recruiter in town. Liked the Air Force guy. Signed up…and as they say…the rest is history."
"Except the part about how you went from the Air Force to the DEA," Deeks said.
"Y'all are really good at interrogating people, you know that?" Longstreet laughed. "But what the hell. After my tour in Iraq, I went home to find my momma. I didn't even recognize her when I found her. Found her dealer though and beat the shit out of him. Got arrested. One of the cops sympathized. Didn't charge me. Long story short…I became a cop. Worked drug deals undercover and got recruited by the DEA. My story in a nutshell. I expect to hear all of yours if we survive this covert op tonight."
"Then you better meet Elan and Henry," Deeks said. "But before you do, I have a question."
"Another one?"
"You said you had the big boss in custody, but he got bailed out and disappeared. But our intel says that your partner didn't name names before he was killed. So how do you know the man you're after is really the right guy?"
"Because it was my intel that put him behind bars in the first place," Longstreet said. "Billy was trying to get more evidence that we had the right guy. When he was found dead, the powers that be decided to let that scumbag out until I could find what Billy never got a chance to. Iron clad evidence they could take to a jury. Before I could do that, the bastard disappeared."
"This bastard have a name?" Elan asked as he walked up.
"Jefferson Hyde. Although I doubt he's using that name out here," he said. "I'm guessing you're the one with Arapaho blood."
"Elan Hand. The long hair give me away?"
"Something like that. Taylor Longstreet."
The two men shook hands and Deeks saw something indefinable pass between them. It was an instant connection he hadn't expected. Maybe it was a military thing.
"What else can you tell us about this guy?" Elan asked.
"He has a pet assassin. One who enjoys his job way too much. A guy named Soji. He'll be close by."
"Soji was here," Deeks said. "He was a nasty sonofabitch…"
Elan gripped his shoulder as he faltered. "He was torturing Marty when Joe and I got there. I took him out. Joe took down the rest."
"Hellfire, Deeks. I'm damn sorry that bastard got his hands on you," Longstreet said. "If anyone needed to be gone from this earth it was Soji. And if he was here, then so is Jefferson Hyde."
"You called him Hyde's pet," Elan said.
"I heard things about Soji and Hyde when I was undercover," Longstreet said. "Lots of stories about how obsessed Hyde was with him. Anybody who went after Soji ended up dead in horrific ways."
"How obsessed?" Henry Tarver asked as he walked up to join the conversation.
"Who are you?" Longstreet asked, suddenly wary.
"I'm the local Game Warden. Henry Tarver. I'll be the one in the line of fire tonight."
Longstreet shook his hand and took his measure at the same time. "Hope you got eyes in the back of your head. These guys won't play fair."
"I'm used to watching for poachers and hungry bears," Henry said. "I'm a game warden. It's part of my nature to be vigilant."
"Your poachers don't even come close to what Jefferson Hyde is like. He's a predator. A vicious one. From what I heard Soji had no life other than the one dictated by Hyde, and that was to kill whoever Hyde told him to kill. Had a CI who knew a woman Soji got interested in. She worked in one of the bars down at the docks. She was Vietnamese. Her body was found stuffed in an oil drum. She was alive when they sealed her inside. My informant told me Soji was forced to watch…all the way to the end."
"Sonofabitch."
"According to my source, he went a little crazy after that. If Hyde finds out it was you who killed that psycho, he'll come for you, Elan. No doubt about that, so watch your back," Longstreet said. "Lily? Watch yourself. Hyde will go after anyone close to who he's after. The fact that you're a woman won't matter. He's a sociopath."
"I've had experience with that kind of man," Lily said as Elan wrapped his arm around her. "We all have, mon ami."
"Monsters."
"Oui. Monsters."
…
No one could remember when the old caboose showed up on the far side of Saratoga Lake. Or how it got there. It was a remnant of the long-gone Saratoga and Encampment Railway, a lonely spur line off the main route of the Union Pacific through Walcott. For years it had been the home of an old hermit who would fish the lake every day. Henry had been checking his license every year since he'd been game warden. He had suggested it for the trap they were setting because the hermit had recently died, and his nephew had moved in. He was an easy-going young man who was more than happy to rent the place out for the evening. The old rail car was in an isolated spot along a rarely used dirt road. There was a small shed, but no houses close by or much of anything, just scrub brush and a low, rock-strewn rise that offered a little bit of cover, especially in the dark.
Henry was wearing a red parka. No one wanted to shoot him by mistake if a firefight broke out. It also covered up the bulletproof vest that Sheriff Sogard insisted he wear. He didn't argue. He was waiting in his car when Deeks and Elan arrived just after the moon set. Deeks had on a white trucker's cap, and Elan had on an orange watch cap pulled down over his ears. Both would be easy to see in the dark, and both had vests under their thick flannel shirts. Callen and Sam had taken up position behind the shed, while Kensi and Lily were on overwatch, melding into the rocky rise that offered perfect sight lines. They would be able to see anyone approaching the caboose. No one had seen where Taylor Longstreet had gotten to. Tom Sogard and Joe were set up in a van behind the cemetery to monitor Tilly's arrival, reminding them several times that they needed her alive. Once she took that road, they would have her boxed in. At least that was the plan. They all doubted she would come alone.
The caboose was more comfortable than Deeks expected. It had no electricity, and was lit by old fashioned kerosene lanterns, but there was a small wood burning stove inside which Elan lit as soon as they got inside. The temperature was hovering around forty degrees but would grow much colder the later it got.
"Com check," Callen murmured.
One by one they all checked in except for Longstreet. There were a few questions about that, but Sam ordered everyone to shut up and they finally all settled in to wait.
"He'll show up when he's needed," Elan said to Deeks as he stamped his feet beside the wood stove.
"And you know this how?"
"I just know."
"Is he even on coms?"
"He told me he didn't like them," Elan said. "Said it ruins his concentration."
"Sounds like something Callen would say," Sam said softly.
"I like coms," Callen said. "But I understand where he's coming from. He's used to working alone. A sudden voice on coms can be a distraction in certain situations."
"Or save your life," Sam retorted.
"Car coming your way," Joe said. "Party's on."
Henry waited until the car was close before he flipped on his high beams and got out. Tilly pulled right up to his grill and stepped out. Before anyone could react, she brought a gun up and fired twice. Henry fell just as Joe yelled.
"SUV coming fast!"
Two men suddenly leaped out of Tilly's car and raced toward the caboose, only to be shot down by Kensi and Lily before they could reach it. More men scrambled out of the oncoming SUV as it skidded to a stop right next to the caboose. They opened fire with automatic weapons, bullets breaking the windows of the caboose and the kerosene lanterns inside. Fire exploded from the windows as Deeks and Elan rushed out, taking out two of the men. Tilly turned her gun to fire on them when a shadowy figure suddenly shot out from under the caboose and tackled her to the ground. The attackers still standing tried taking cover behind their vehicle only to be boxed in by Joe and the sheriff as they roared up behind them. An old man with a wiry beard fired a shotgun blast into their windshield, shattering glass all over. Joe shot his legs out from under him. Callen raced past Henry's car firing on the remaining attackers while Sam went to Henry as he lay gasping on the ground, trying desperately to breathe. Tilly was screaming out curses until Longstreet shoved her face in the dirt. It shook Deeks, but the DEA agent offered no apology as he ran to where Joe stood over the old man who was calling on God to send them all to hell.
"Shut up, Brother Ambrose," Longstreet shouted, kicking him hard in the ribs. "You're the one going to hell, you phony sonofabitch."
"The Lord will protect me," he shouted.
"Well, he ain't done much for you so far," Longstreet replied. "No divine intervention for you tonight, you old hypocrite, just retribution."
"You know this guy?" Sheriff Sogard asked.
"Yeah, I know the bastard," he replied. "He's a major drug dealer masquerading as a preacher. Has a church and a bunch of ex-cons are his flock. DEA's been after him for years. He's tight with Jefferson Hyde."
"Guys?" Kensi said softly over coms. "There's car just up the road. Its lights are out."
Just as she got the words out, a bullet knocked Taylor Longstreet off his feet. The next shot barely missed Deeks. Kensi and Lily both opened fire in the direction of the shooter, but the car was already backing rapidly away. Joe and the sheriff jumped back in the van and tore out after it, while Kensi charged down the hill.
Elan quickly called 9-1-1. "We have officers down and multiple wounded. Send everything you've got out to Saratoga Lake Road near the cemetery. Send the coroner and a fire engine, too."
"Dammit! The bullet hit just under his vest," Deeks cursed as he worked to stop the bleeding. "You stay with me, buddy. You hear me? This isn't over."
"Get Jefferson Hyde for me, Deeks," He choked out. "Promise me, man…promise…"
The night air was suddenly filled with the sound of sirens and the now roaring fire. Flashing blue wig-wag lights competed with the burning caboose, both lighting up the bloody scene. The preacher was shouting out to God in a voice that could be heard over everything, pleading for lightning to strike his enemies, until finally falling silent after cursing an indifferent god who failed to answer.
…
…